Bacon's Rebellion

  • Don’t Get Too Fired Up About UVa’s FIRE Ranking

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Allan Stam

    The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) recently gave the University of Virginia a 6th-place ranking in a national survey assessing the state of free speech on college campuses. Provost Ian Baucom cited the recognition during Wednesday’s Board of Visitors meeting, noting that it was the highest ranking the university had ever achieved.

    UVa’s high score suggests to some the existence of a robust culture of open dialogue and intellectual freedom at UVa. However, a closer examination of the underlying data reveals a more nuanced and troubling picture.

    UVa’s overall score was a mere 68 out of 100, a grade that would be considered failing in many academic and household settings. This discrepancy between the overall ranking and the actual score raises questions about the survey’s methodology. It casts doubt on the true state of free speech at UVA and perhaps other highly ranked institutions.

    UVa earned the high score primarily on the basis of its stated policies. President Jim Ryan, Provost Ian Baucom and the Board of Visitors have repeatedly endorsed free speech and viewpoint diversity in the past year. But official policies tell us little about actual practices or the cultural milieu in which students, faculty and staff interact.

    When one digs a little deeper into the specific categories within the survey, the concerns become even more pronounced. UVa ranks alarmingly low in several key areas: 222nd in “Comfort Expressing Ideas,” 178th in “Disruptive Conduct,” and 188th in “Openness.” These rankings are not mere numbers; they represent a tangible reality where students feel uncomfortable expressing their ideas, where disruptive conduct stifles dialogue, and where a lack of openness hampers intellectual growth. (more…)

  • Virginia’s Top and Bottom Local School Divisions, 2023

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    by John Butcher

    Professor Excel is glad to sort the Division test results so let’s look at the top and bottom performers.

    But first: On average, Virginia’s economically disadvantaged (ED) students pass at about 20% lower rates than their more affluent peers (Not ED). Thus, the overall division averages are affected by the relative percentages of ED students, which is not a performance metric. The excellent VDOE Build-A-Table offers data for both groups, so let’s look at them separately. (more…)

  • Hey, Preppers, Check Out Virginia!

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    I always suspected this might be the case, but now there is hard data to back it up. Non-coastal Virginia is one of the lowest-risk areas in the country for natural disasters. Sure, we get the occasional tornado or flood, but, really, how often? And when was the last time we experienced a deadly wildfire, hail storm or volcanic eruption?

    Gutter Gnome, a gutter installation company, drew upon FEMA’s National Risk Index to identify the ten cities in the United States safest from natural disasters. Virginia snagged the top three. The list:

    1. Richmond
    2. Lynchburg
    3. Roanoke
    4. Midland, TX
    5. Duluth, MN
    6. Rochester, MN
    7. Pittsburgh, PA
    8. Tyler, TX
    9. Bloomington, IN
    10. Boise, ID

    Oddly, Compton, Va., a community in Page County, Va., appeared on the list of riskiest “cities” for natural disasters. No explanation given. Must have had a bad flood or landslide.

    Here are the categories of natural disasters, incorporating data from exposure, frequency, and historic loss ratio, that FEMA tracks: avalanche, coastal flooding, cold waves, droughts, earthquakes, hail, heat waves, hurricanes, ice storms, landslides, lightning, riverine flooding, strong wind, tornado, tsunami, volcanic activity, wildfire, and winter weather.

    — JAB

  • Virginia’s “Runaway” Budget Negotiators

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    by Derrick A. Max

    (This column was first published by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy)

    Fear of commitment is a common theme in Hollywood — where romantic comedies are replete with characters that sidestep long-term commitment primarily out of fear that someone better may come along. Think of Runaway Bride, where Maggie, played by Julia Roberts, keeps running away from her betrothed at the altar out of such fear.

    The budget amendments passed last Wednesday with bipartisan support and praise from Governor Youngkin are replete with commitment issues. The approved tax cuts and new spending were written to have very little impact beyond the current budget cycle. Like Maggie, both Governor Youngkin and the Senate Democrats are clearly standing at the budget altar hoping for better options after the November elections. (more…)

  • UVa’s Ever-Expanding Bureaucracy: Student Advising Edition

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    University of Virginia old-timers (like myself) remember what it was like to find help in picking courses and deciding majors. We’d latch ourselves onto a professor who took an interest in us, and he or she would walk us through the process. It did require some initiative on our part to reach out, but then, we were accustomed to taking matters into our own hands. I was fortunate. My advisor, history professor Joseph C. Miller, was not only a charismatic teacher and a leading scholar in his field, but he regarded the care and tending of students — even lowly undergraduates like me — as part of his vocation.

    That’s not the way it works anymore. Faculty members are still expected to play a role in advising students, but it is a much diminished one. At UVa, responsibility for dispensing advice has been bureaucratized.

    At the UVa Board of Visitors meeting Wednesday, the Ryan administration highlighted what it is doing to improve student advising. The dominant themes of the session were (1) the student experience is lacking for many, and (2) the answer is hiring more advisors and investing in the latest, greatest technology.

    The picture that emerged is that UVa has numerous fragmented initiatives at the school and college level but no coherent university-wide vision. Practices vary widely. The cost of programs was not discussed. No cost-benefit analysis has been conducted. With no clear objectives beyond “we want to be the best,” there are no logical limits to an endless expansion of programs. (more…)

  • Dems Nominated an Online Porn Star for House of Delegates

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    by

    Bob Rayner

    by Kerry Dougherty

    I can’t decide which is more shocking: that Virginia Democrats nominated a porn star for the House of Delegates or that The Washington Post committed an act of journalism that hurt a Democrat.

    Shoot, we know what to expect of Democrats. This news doesn’t register on the political shock-o-meter. What’s truly stunning is that The Post published a story that reflects badly on someone they normally would have endorsed.

    The adjective “blockbuster” is overused when describing big news stories.

    Not this time.

    On Monday, The Post had an actual blockbuster: The paper revealed that Susanna Gibson, a 40-year-old nurse practitioner, married mother of two and the Democrats’ choice for the open 57th District House of Delegates seat, has been engaging in smutty online sex with her husband.

    The couple begs for tips before performing requested lewd acts.

    Classy. (more…)

  • Let Me Get This Straight…

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    Wyatt Gordon writes about smart growth issues for the Virginia Mercury and Greater Greater Washington. Sometimes, he’s worth reading. But, then, sometimes, he’s not. As an example of the latter, he recently posted this on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter:

    So, let me get this straight. If Gordon avoided emitting 54,000 pounds of carbon pollution by driving 1,000 miles on his electric bike instead of driving a car, he says he’s saving 54 pounds per mile. Is that physically possible?

    Now, I never took high school chemistry, but I do know that a pound of gasoline does not translate into a pound of CO2 emissions. According to the EPA, when gasoline is combusted, it frees up carbon atoms and hydrogen atoms. The hydrogen atoms combine with oxygen atoms in the air to create water. The carbon atoms combine with oxygen atoms to create CO2. Most of the weight of a CO2 molecule comes from oxygen atoms that were not present in the gasoline. In that way, says the EPA, a gallon of gasoline does indeed transmute into about 20 pounds of tailpipe carbon.

    But unless Gordon toodles around town in a monster truck, he’s likely getting 20 or more miles to the gallon. Basic arithmetic tells us that a car that gets 20 miles to the gallon consumes 1/20th of a gallon per mile. Therefore, it generates 1/2oth of a gallon’s worth of tailpipe carbon per mile… or about one pound.

    Gordon appears to have overstated his reduced CO2 emissions by a factor of 50.

    That’s not the scary part. (more…)

  • Fairfax School Board Ignores the Rule of Law

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    by Emilio Jaksetic

    On July 18, 2023, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) issued “Model Policies on Ensuring Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for all Students and Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools” (Revised Model Policy).  A copy of that policy is accessible at  https://www.doe.virginia.gov/Home/Components/News/News/308/

    On August 15, 2023, Michelle Reid, Ed.D, Superintendent of the Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) issued a Superintendent’s Message entitled “Model Policy Update.”  According to the Superintendent’s Message, “We have concluded our detailed legal review and determined that our current Fairfax County Public School (FCPS) policies [on transgender and gender-expansive students] are consistent with federal and state anti-discrimination laws as required by the new model policies.”  A copy of the Superintendent’s Message is accessible at https://www.fcps.edu/news/model-policy-update. 

    On August 23, 2023, Virginia Attorney General Jason S. Miyares issued an advisory opinion affirming the legal validity of the VDOE’s Revised Model Policy and advising Virginia Governor Youngkin that Virginia school boards are required by Virginia Code Section 22.1-23.3 to adopt policies that are consistent with the VDOE’s Revised Model Policy.  A copy of the Attorney General’s Advisory Opinion is accessible at https://www.oag.state.va.us/citizen-resources/opinions/official-opinions?view=article&id=2523&catid=30.

    Attorney General Miyares is correct that Virginia Code, Section 22.1-23.3 imposes a duty on Virginia school boards.  Section 22.1-23.3.B. requires “Each school board shall adopt policies [on transgender students] that are consistent with but may be more comprehensive than the model policies developed by the Department of Education pursuant to subsection A.”  The word “shall” means Virginia school boards have a mandatory duty to adopt policies that are consistent with the VDOE’s Revised Model Policy.  Under Section 22.1.-23.3.B., Virginia school boards have no authority or discretion to adopt or retain policies that are inconsistent with the Revised Model Policy.  However, the Superintendent’s Message is a declaration that FCPS will not carry out the mandatory action required by Section 22.1-23.3.B. (more…)

  • Petersburg: Paradigm of VBOE Fecklessness, the 2023 Update

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    by John Butcher

    Despite nineteen years of “supervision” by the Board and Department of Education, the Petersburg schools marinate in failure.

    Va. Code § 22.1-8 provides: “The general supervision of the public school system shall be vested in the Board of Education.”

    Va. Code § 22.1-253.13:8 provides:

    The Board of Education shall have authority to seek school division compliance with the foregoing Standards of Quality. When the Board of Education determines that a school division has failed or refused, and continues to fail or refuse, to comply with any such Standard, the Board may petition the circuit court having jurisdiction in the school division to mandate or otherwise enforce compliance with such standard, including the development or implementation of any required corrective action plan that a local school board has failed or refused to develop or implement in a timely manner.

    Documents on the VBOE Web pages show the following events as to Petersburg:

    image

    “MOU” is bureaucratese for “Memorandum of Understanding,” which in turn is an edict to which the Board can point in order to claim it is doing something about lousy schools. The MOU process demands a Corrective Action Plan (“CAP”) that sets forth “specific actions and a schedule designed to ensure that schools within [the affected] school division meet the standards established by the Board.”

    The 2023 SOL data are now out; they show the results of the nineteenth year of the Board’s attempts to improve the Petersburg schools.

    (more…)

  • Sex, Lies and Virginia Law: The Susanna Gibson Case

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    Susanna Gibson, Democratic nominee for the 57th District seat in the Virginia House of Delegates.

    Republished with permission from the Liberty Unyielding blog.

    “Susanna Gibson, a House candidate in Virginia, had sex with her husband in live videos posted online and asked viewers to pay them money in return,” notes USA Today. A recent video shows the Democratic candidate for Virginia’s House of Delegates doing sex acts. She allegedly also had sex with other people, not just her husband. (more…)

  • Former Roanoke Mayor Switches Parties

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    From The Roanoke Star

    (Editor’s Note: Below is a Set. 11, 2023 statement released by David Bowers, who served as the Democratic mayor of Roanoke from 1992 to 2000 and from 2008 to 2016. He ran unsuccessfully for mayor as an independent in 2020.)

    On this Patriot Day, September 11, 2023, after months of reflection, consultation with my wife, Margarita, family, friends and supporters, and much prayer, I have decided that my conscience compels me to join the Republican Party.

    It may be considered “inconsiderate” by some longtime supporters and Democrats who have stood by me in the past. To all who have supported me, you really do have my sincere and heartfelt thanks. Together we have done a lot of good for our city, but I believe, as a citizen, that switching now is the right thing to do. Please be assured that I have made, in my own opinion, and that of my wife, a thoughtful and conscientious decision.

    Today’s Democratic Party is not the party which embodied those historic and inspiring words of President John F. Kennedy, one of my heroes, in his 1961 Inaugural Address: “Ask not what your country can do for you… Ask what you can do for your country!” Today’s Democratic Party is all about: What can the government do for me! (more…)

  • A Tale of Two Governors

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    by Kerry Dougherty

    Why is anyone surprised that the governor of New Mexico has decided that a spike in crime constitutes a public health emergency that warrants suspension of 2nd Amendment rights of the people to carry a firearm?

    When Americans merrily surrendered their civil rights three years ago during a health emergency, could they not foresee a perpetual state of emergencies, with tyrannical despots infringing on constitutional rights using the flimsiest of excuses?

    I hate to say “I told you so,” but some of us tried to sound the alarm in the winter of 2020, but too many Americans were hiding under their beds to listen to us.

    Now this:

    On Friday, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, declared a public health emergency in Albuquerque and nearby Bernalillo County citing high crime rates and issued a 30-day ban on the carrying of firearms. She said she was likely to extend the order.

    “I have emergency powers,” Grisham crowed. “Gun violence is an epidemic. Therefore, it’s an emergency!”

    Never mind that of the five shooting incidents Grisham cited when suspending the Second Amendment, only two were in the Albuquerque area and chances are neither would have been thwarted by her unconstitutional ban. (more…)

  • In Loco Parentis, Part II

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    
by A.L. Schuhart

    My last essay here engendered a bunch of predictable comment, as I hoped it would. The fact is, however, that my argument is sound, and my purpose is to reacquaint the public with the principle of in loco parentis as it informs the grand discussion of Education in Virginia and America.

    Those readers who responded that parents do not get to decide curriculum are just wrong. If you look at the examples I gave of things that parents can and should object to, you would see that they are all in what educators term the “affective domain,” as opposed to the “cognitive domain.”

    What’s the difference in Education theory and practice?

    The cognitive domain describes concrete skills and cognitive development: math, reading, writing, history, etc. The affective domain is essentially the personal “world view” of the student: politics, religion, social attitude, emotions, etc.

    Schools have a mandate to teach the cognitive domain, and traditionally the affective domain is not the business of the teacher or school to intrude upon. It belongs to the parent. (more…)

  • Teach for America in Virginia

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    by

    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    One commenter on my last article was highly critical of Teach for America (TFA). I cannot let that go without refutation.

    Look at the map of TFA places to work.  

    You will see that in Virginia only the inner suburbs of the D.C. area have access to those highly motivated young people. Alexandria is the first school division in Virginia to partner with Teach For America. It is actively recruiting TFA volunteers.

    Now look at North Carolina on the same map. Read the Charlotte-Piedmont Triad TFA web page.

    Now look at the Petersburg teacher charts again. (more…)

  • Did Assembly Trim Dominion Bills $7-$14? No.

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    The SCC’s breakdown of Dominion’s energy price for a home using 1,000 kwh.  Click for clear view.

    by Steve Haner

    When the Virginia General Assembly passed a complicated electricity regulation change a few months ago, the Richmond Times-Dispatch parroted as fact this Dominion Energy Virginia claim in a front-page paragraph:

    The compromise on electric bills — in legislation that passed nearly unanimously — would bring an immediate $6 to $7 cut in a benchmark 1,000 kilowatt-hour monthly bill, which now stands at $137.

    (more…)

Now Available

Book cover of 'Dust Mites: A Second American Revolution' by James A. Bacon, featuring astronauts planting a flag with a blue and white emblem on a lunar landscape, with Earth visible in the background.
For sale on Amazon.com

The year: 2075. The American colonies on the Moon are getting restless under Washington’s tyrannical rule….

This second edition of “Dust Mites” has a snazzy new cover, includes helpful lunar maps, and is 5,000 words tighter than the original. The sequel, “Trogs,” is scheduled for publication this summer.

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Bacon’s Rebellion is Virginia’s leading politically non-aligned portal for news, opinions and analysis about state, regional and local public policy. Read more about us here.

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